No Words Necessary

OK, I have a hard time with no words. Just one question - what is that TAIL doing in this nice picture??

Best tea party picture EVER.

Christmas Miracles

Our Christmas miracles (above).

It was a fabulous year for miracles, all around. But maybe I'll save that for my 2009 Recap post. For now, here are some of the Christmas-specific miracles.

1. Christmas snow! The first actual Christmas snow since weather has been recorded around here. It must have been magic. The day before, it was 70 degrees.

2. Christmas dinner was still served. Had we known about the weather forecast, perhaps we wouldn't have planned for Jim to grill steak and lobster tails outside....then again, it was kind of fun to watch him out there (with a flashlight in the dark, no less) with snow swirling around his head and ice forming on his steak plate. He was quite a trooper, and dinner was excellent!

3. I finished my Christmas drink. It was a Bloody Mary, and tasted really good. Jim always gives me a hard time because he mixes or pours me drinks and I never finish them. Not that I don't want to...but I get so sidetracked by...three other things. I don't think I finished the wine with dinner, but the Bloody Mary I managed to suck down pretty quickly. It helps that Grandma and Grandpa are here to run interference with the "three other things".

4. Christmas morning was not too early. We got to sleep in until a decent time. Liam was up watching tv quietly until others woke up. Really, what kid does this?? He saw the presents, and then went off to be quiet until we woke. He didn't seem to understand why I thought it was unusual.

5. Owen was not too crazy. I feared we'd have off the wall craziness, with all the people, excitement, gift opening and schedule changing. But he was no crazier than usual. So thankful for this! And to run off energy, the Jumpolene (in the picture) worked so well.

6. And of course, our big miracle was having Owen here this year. We weren't wondering where he was and how he was being treated, or what he was doing. He was here, and loving Christmas with his family. Truly our Christmas miracle.

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Break

Should I be worried that Liam keeps telling me how sad he is that school is out for Christmas break? All week, whenever I announced how many more days until Break he would mutter something like, "Oh no! Not yet! I don't want school to end." I get that. Really, I do. I was like that myself most times. But it's a break for Christmas - surely there is some excitement about that?! I hope his holiday ends up exceeding his apparently low expectations. And don't get me wrong - I am a little worried about it myself. I hope I don't find myself counting the days until school starts up again and we get back to a familiar routine. The Little Man seems to be a perfect mirror for any emotions or stress in the family, and I'm thinking that there must be more holiday stress around here than I realized. He's a little edgy lately. (Example: incessantly barking like a dog recently...hope that goes away soon.)

But back to Liam. I have been feeling bad that I don't get as many pictures of him (he's in school, after all) or blog about him these days. He is our glue around here though. He told me out of the blue the other day, when I was right in the middle of getting myself worked into a snit about something, that he had a plan for the family. The plan involved each one of us going to sit in the family room every day to look at the star on top of the tree and think about baby Jesus and Christmas. sigh...he knew just how to let all the air out of my snit.

For his teacher's Christmas present, Liam painted a Cardinals picture. She is a St. Louis Cardinals fan, and Liam's baseball team is the Cardinals. I pulled up a picture of the Cardinals logo for him to look at, and he painted from that. Later, Jim looked at it and told me the logo I showed him was actually the Arizona Cardinals football logo and not the St. Louis Cardinals baseball logo. Ooops- I never claimed to be a sports fan. But Liam did such a great job with it, all by himself. I was so impressed. And his teacher said it almost made her cry when she saw it. awwww I took a photo of his painting and used it to make a little logo on a customized notepad that says "From The Desk of" and his teacher's name. I did the same for Natalie's teachers with her art last year (and this year), and it seemed to be a big hit. I am truly the make-a-memento-with-a-photo Queen these days. Someday it will get old and no one will want my photo gifts anymore - then what will I do?

For the notepad I did crop the picture so the Go Carbinals misspelling wasn't showing, although that did add a quirky kind of charm. We still have lingering "b" and "d" issues, even though his reading has been improving by leaps and bounds.

Right now, his favorite subject is Math. He regularly comes home and wants to write out his own math problems. Sometimes word problems, sometimes just a sheet of addition, subtraction, and multiplication equations. Again, should I worry? The multiplication is very basic stuff, but he learned it from Jim one day, and he (Liam) just loves the concept of it. Jim thinks Math is the best thing ever, and I think his enthusiasm has rubbed off on Liam. I gave Liam a calculator the other day and you would have thought I'd given him the keys to the Forbidden Kingdom. He couldn't get over it. He just sat and punched in equations to see what the answer was.

OK, so that is my Liam fix for the day. It wasn't the greatest post, and there are a lot of other cute Liam stories that I can't remember right at the moment, so this will have to do. And fingers crossed that his Break isn't all that bad!

New Decorations

We have some new additions to our tree this year. The first I found on an adoption-related website. The two matryoshka doll ornaments I found at World Market - made in China (true). No, we didn't buy nearly enough authentic Russian stuff while we were there. Even so, Jim thinks we have way too many matryoshka dolls. We have the Novokuznetsk version, with scenes from the city painted on it. Then there is the standard one that looks similar to the ornaments above, that we bought in Moscow (though to be honest I would not be surprised if it was also made in China...). Then we have a Nutcracker version, and a Santa version, and a cat version that Grandma Helen gave us years before we even knew we were going to Russia. Matryoshka dolls everywhere.

And THIS is my find of the year, for Owen's stocking. Also from World Market - it was the only one in a bin full of little push toys. (Hard to tell the size in the picture, but it's only a couple inches long). Owen and I were shopping, and when I saw this, I was shocked. I knew this horse! I had looked at this horse 3 times a day from Nov 24 2008 until, oh, about June 28th, 2009. Obviously, Jim did not, because he asked "Why should I recognize that horse??" I ended up Googling "yellow bouncy horse" and discovered that it is called a Rody horse, and must be fairly popular in Europe. I thought it was just a random, odd orphanage toy. Go figure.

Not So Fearless After All

We recently had our first Post-Placement visit from our Homestudy Agency. Russia requires these "updates" to see how the child is doing in their new home, at 6 months, 1 year, 2 year, and 3 years. It is hard to believe that it has almost been 6 months now that Owen has been home. The visit went fine, and I think the caseworker was pleased with how well he has adjusted.

One thing that they ask about is attachment, of course, and they ask questions to see if there are any red flags. For example, it can be an issue if the child "indiscriminately attaches" to anyone and everyone. I told her I thought Owen was not shy, and was pretty friendly, but I didn't necessarily think he would just go off with anyone. But I have to admit, I wasn't sure about that one. Everytime we go to the mall, and he sees Santa, for instance, he waves like crazy and wants nothing more than to run after him. This is far different from my other two, who have never, NEVER wanted to get close to Santa. Even now. So, while it was cute, I was wondering a little whether it was a bad sign.

I finally decided to take Owen (when the other 2 were at school) and get his picture taken with the Big Guy. I thought it would be cute to include in Christmas cards, since we haven't taken him in for a formal photo session yet (sounds like soooo much work to take all 3 in and try to get them sitting and happy at one time). Well...let me tell you. It is one thing to wave and say Hello to Santa, and it is an entirely other thing to sit on his lap and not be safe in Mommy's arms. So...I'm not upset that he didn't smile for the picture. This was the split second before he burst into terrible sobs. It actually made me feel kind of good that he didn't want to go off with the man and wave Goodbye to me. And once he was back in my arms, he cheered right up again and waved Goodybe to Santa.

I didn't buy many of these shots, but it's good for a first Christmas home memory. And I am secretly happy to know that he is not totally fearless. I think that is a good thing.

Love Those Cupcakes

OK, so I know the birthday celebration is over, but here I am, posting a picture of the cupcakes I made for Owen. Mostly, I'm posting to just annoy Jim, because he asked me how long I was going to keep talking about those cupcakes, and that I really needed to just get over myself. But come ON - those were too darn cute.

This, my friends, is the pinnacle of my baking career, even topping the Peep sunflower cake for Easter in terms of absolute cuteness.

And this is it. I'm done. I can do no cuter. So now, I have to convince all of my children that they want Elmo cupcakes from now until they turn 18 (at which time I will let them pick out their own cake from the dessert menu of a fine dining establishment - with no chicken nuggets on the menu- in which we will undoubtedly be eating by then...right?...please tell me that this is true). OK, they can either have Elmo, or the Peep cake. I'm flexible.

Besides just annoying my husband, there is another point to posting the picture of my Elmo masterpiece. It is kind of like in that movie As Good As It Gets, where Jack Nicholson tells Helen Hunt "You make me want to be a better man." even though we all know he's always going to be a nasty old curmudgeon.

That is the way I feel about baking for my kids. They make me want to be a better cook. A better mom. A better person. And yes, we all know I am never going to be Martha Stewart or even a good cook. But darn it, if they don't make me want to be, whether I enjoy it or not. They make me look wistfully at sewing machines in Hobby Lobby, even though I don't have the patience (or talent) to sew on a button. They make me want to arrange playdates, even though I'm bordering on antisocial. They make me want to spend evenings cutting and sorting math problems for a class full of six year olds who will never appreciate how long it takes. They make me want to turn my life upside down and make 3 trips halfway across the world to bring them home.

I love how they can make me want to do so many things I never thought I would want to do. That is the beauty...the Elmo is just the symbol.

Christmas Ham

and Cheese...

Not So Sure-Footed

OK, so I'm not so keen on the cute, Winter, footy-pajamas right now. They do look cute, of course. And kind of Christmas-y. But let me paint a picture (or two) for you... First, there is the middle-of-the-night bathroom run for Natalie. You know the one. It starts as a whine and moves into a moaning cry, and then you realize that she must have to go but she can't wake herself up enough to walk to the bathroom. So you trudge up the steps and ask her if she has to go, and she nods yes, with her eyes closed. And so you walk her to the bathroom, then realize that in footy pjs you have to actually unzip them all the way, and pull them entirely down around her ankles in order for her to go, and it is chilly at night, and so the moaning and crying never stop because now she's freezing cold AND has to go. Then when she is finally finished, the pjs have slipped entirely off and now the feet are somehow turned inside out, and so she is on the floor, still crying, while you struggle to right the feet and then you get the wrong footy on the wrong foot and have to start over. You get the idea... I can't even begin to imagine how she could have managed this herself in the middle of the night since I could not do it.

Then, let me paint another picture. One of a smaller boy...who is quite pleased with the fact that zippers are so easy and....zippy. Picture a sunny morning, roused by the call of the young boy's giggles. A lightness in your step because the boy sounds so darn happy this morning. Opening the door to find the boy, quite happy, with a grin from ear to ear. Also urine from head to toe, and the footy pjs and the diaper in the corner of the crip...on top of dripping wet sheets and blankets.

No more footy pajamas. For anyone.

Happy 2nd Birthday Owen!!

Two years ago today, on a cold day in the Siberian city of Novokuznetsk, a baby boy was born. Through the wonders of the internet I found an actual picture of Kemerovo that very day in 2007 (not Novokuznetsk, but close - this is the city where we had our court proceedings).
And this...is my one and only baby picture of our little man. Also through the wonders of the internet (and helpful adoption-type people who provided a Russian translation to navigate the site), I was able to pull this picture from Owen's file on the Russian orphan "database" after we received his referral. I think it was taken about the time he entered into the system there. They never gave us this picture when we visited, so I'm so glad to have it.

One year ago today, we had a blue cake with a rainbow on it (Owen was somewhere over the rainbow), sang Happy Birthday, and video taped messages to Owen. But he was in Novokuznetsk Baby Home #95.

This year, the world is a different place (and the icing a different color) for five people in this family. Happy 2nd Birthday Owen! We love you so much!

Oh, how to sum up in words how I feel about my youngest child.

Owen, you are a force of nature. You are the most resilient person I know. You have a natural enthusiasm, curiosity, and charisma that has helped you through some crazy times in your short life (not the least of which was being carted away by complete strangers to a land far away). Your smile can stop my heart (and I'm pretty sure the hearts of anyone near you, although I may be a biased mother). You are strong in ways I can't explain, physical and otherwise. I think you could be President if you wanted (although the laws don't allow that...and I find that very annoying...but I'm sure you could change those laws by the time you get there). You have tenacity, fearlessness, and a wonderful, bounding joy. Even at your tender age, I feel like you are taking on life instead of letting it take you. I am so very, very glad that I am getting to know you, and have the privilege of being your Mommy. I love you forever.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thankful for:

Celebrating with Liam, Natalie, AND Owen this year.

Grandma and Grandpa joining us too.

Beautiful Thanksgiving weather.

The start of Christmas festivities.

Good food, and minimal work involved.

Family, family, family.

Hoping that everyone out there enjoyed Thanksgiving as much as we did here!

Happy Referral Day!

Exactly one year ago yesterday we went out to dinner for my 40th birthday. The kids were well-behaved, we had a nice conversation, and we came to the conclusion that we were in such a good place and things were going so well that maybe we were foolish to continue pursuing the adoption. We wrapped our heads around the idea of being happy with our foursome and moving on. We felt ourselves moving into a more mature family phase.

Exactly one year ago today we received the call from our agency that we had a referral (they had told me a few days earlier than this that we wouldn't get a referral for probably another 3 months). Even though we knew we should not get our hopes up or get attached prematurely, we still all gathered round the computer and opened up these pictures. And all four of us caught our breath and said, "Oh! He's sooooo cute!"

We spent Thanksgiving a few days later with friends, and even though I had told myself that I would not share his picture with anyone in case this didn't work out, I brought his picture out and showed him off instead. "We're going to call him Owen," I told them.

I can't say that I didn't still have my doubts that it would ever happen. But it felt right. And these three pictures kept me going for another three and a half months until we met him in person.

Happy Referral Day, to my sweet baby boy who was so far away a year ago. In some ways it seems like a lifetime ago that we first saw your face. And yet, it also seems that we have known you forever. We can't imagine life without you.

(And Happy Birthday to Grandpa, who shares his birthday with Owen's Referral Day!)

Good Friends

Figured I'd add one more of my Christmas card practice shots. Oh, if only I had any chance at all of getting all three together like this...but I think that would be flying too close to the sun. I do like this shot. These two are definitely good friends - probably even more so now than say, a year ago.

No energy to post any more. Jim traveling all week. So. Tired. Looking forward to having him home all next week for the holiday. He should be well-rested after a week away from the craziness of home, right? I know, somehow it doesn't work that way.

Knock On Wood

Knock on wood...but things have been better the last 2 days between Owen and Natalie. She has seemed almost sweet with him. Now, for some reason Liam has been doing things to intentionally annoy Natalie. That's sort of unusual, and I'm hoping it stops soon on it's own accord. A little Thanksgiving peace is my wish....I know I aim high...I should just be thankful that we are all together this year. And I am thankful. But a little continuing peace would also be wonderful.

Don't let the sweet pictures fool you - they can be meaner than a skillet full of rattlesnakes. (OK, I didn't really need to add that, but I'm brushing up on my Southern sayings, ran across that one, and thought I really needed to use it in a post about Natalie and Owen).

Seen and Overheard

Seen:
One small boy hanging over the side of the slide, at the very top. He wasn't yelling or crying. Just hanging there by his fingertips, looking at me like "Ummm, this seemed like a good idea at the time..." Lucky for him he has quick reflexes and very strong arms. I think maybe he was showing off for Liam and a playmate, and thought he'd just swing right over the side.

Also seen: One small boy, with a bedside table on top of him. This time he was crying. I have anticipated many pieces of furniture that could fall on top of this boy, but have to admit, I didn't see that one coming. It's a short table, and it seems pretty stable. But...apparently when you open the drawer and then try to climb into it from the bed, it becomes a bit less stable. No injuries though, except probably pride.

Overheard:
One little girl, on the way to a bounce house/play area:
"Mom, do you think Owen might get lost at the Play Center?"
Me: "No, I don't think so."
"But maybe he could."
Me, realizing what she is saying: "No, we would not let him get lost. We would find him."
sighhhhhh...."Even if we had to use a microscope, huh?" (Dejectedly.)
Me: "Yes, even if we had to use a microscope."

Enjoying The Ride

Natalie's big present for her birthday was a girly bike. She had been using Liam's old bike, and really had outgrown it. So we finally got her a Very Girly Bike. Very girly. A Barbie bike, to be exact. And it has a tiny little bike on the handlebars so that a Barbie doll can ride with her.

Too. Darn. Cute. And probably a little obnoxious, especially if you don't like Barbie.

Now she wants to ride her bike all the way from home to school when we walk to pick up Liam, which is probably about a mile in total. She does really well, although it is kind of hard to help her over bumps and push Owen in the stroller. Today Owen fell asleep late and Jim was working from home, so I just left Owen asleep and I let Natalie ride. Something about the way she sits up straight and kind of wobbles back and forth reminds me so much of Elmo riding a bike (for those who watch Sesame Street often I think you'll know what I mean). Too cute. Plus, I think every female we passed, woman or child, let out a shriek when she saw the Barbie riding with her. I could tell Natalie was so proud. (Liam, maybe not so much...)

I almost hate to add this, because I hate for his accomplishment to be overshadowed by Barbie, but Liam also learned to ride his bike (withOUT training wheels) this week. Yippee! I was a little worried he would be 18 and not riding, because he had not shown much interest in trying. He has never been big on bike riding, even with training wheels. But, in typical Liam style, he took his time getting around to it but then when he really tried, he learned very fast. (Learning to walk was the exact same thing. It took him forever to try it, but then one day he just walked around like he had been doing it for a year.) I don't have a picture yet - just video. Maybe I will try to post some of that later.

The Run-Down

So I posted pictures, but I never gave the run-down on Halloween. It was better than I expected. Or Owen was better than I expected. Chaos and lots of children, noise, and excitement generally adds up to craziness for him. But he seemed to just take it all in on Halloween. He walked to a few houses with me, and then the two of us sat outside on the step and handed out candy. He loved to put candy in the baskets, but then quite often he would try to grab back the entire basket. Made for some surprised faces when he grabbed their whole stash. But who could resist being robbed by Robin? Of course I made him give it right back, and he was fine with that.

I was just happy that he didn't get too worked up outside. It probably helped that we used the monkey backpack with a leash. And yes, I had one little boy who stood in front of me angrily protesting, "He's not a dog! He's not a dog!" Well, little boy, when it's your turn to watch him you can go without a leash. Not on my watch, and especially not on Halloween.

We had a neighborhood campout night a few weeks back, and did not use the backpack/leash. The long and short of it is this: when there are lots of screaming children running around excitedly, Owen matches their excitement. All of it. The excitement of every single kid there. And ends up looking like a tiny boy who downed about 10 double-shot espressos. He runs. And runs. And if you pick him up, his legs keep running in the air. He trips over curbs, falls, and then keeps running. It's frenetic. It's crazed. It's exhausting. It's frankly a little scary.

Anyway, after Trick or Treat, when it was time to go in, the meltdown finally happened, and a good 45 minutes of screaming ensued (the sugar probably did not help). Then he was calm again, and sat on my lap facing me for our bedtime rocking ritual and he told me all about his evening. That was my favorite part of the evening, listening to him talk. Most of it was in non-words, or Owen-words, of course. But interspersed in there were words that let me know what he was saying. It went something like this: "Blah blah blah BOOOO BOOOO BOOOO (ghosts everywhere!) blah blah blah WOOF WOOF WOOF (he saw some dogs...anyway, he talks about dogs every night even when he doesn't see any) blah blah blah MOO MOO(for moon - it was so bright that night!) blah blah blah MnMnM (M&Ms - he loves them)." I so wish I had been able to record it. I'm also so thankful that we can always seem to come back down to our happy, calm place before bed. That is a blessing.

Halloween Pics

Happy Birthday Natalie!

Natalie turned 4 on Halloween. Oh happy day! She has been counting down the days for six months, I think. Mom, is it October 31st yet? Mom, how many more days until Halloween - that is October 31st - that is my birthday, in case you didn't know.

I think she had a great time, although it's quite possible that nothing could have matched the hype in her head. Still, she had cake, she had a tutu, she had pottery painting (she had no little brother at the pottery place...), she had trick-or-treat in an Ariel costume. Life is good.

So, here is my birthday tribute to my baby girl:

Natalie, I could listen to you all day (and sometimes I don't have a choice about that). I love that you are hysterically funny, and chatty, and animated so much of the time, and then when we are in public you become a mime. I love your passion and your humor and your energy. I love that your opinions are all definite, and that nothing can match your enthusiasm. I love that you are girly and feminine in ways that I never was, and can dance and twirl and do forward rolls around the house just on a whim. I love that you can write your full name already, even though it has 18 letters. I love your drawings and paintings, and how your personality shines through your art. I love your big heart, and the fact that you still, every time, will tell me that you love your little brother even though he drives you crazy. I think you will be able to do great things in life, and I can't wait to see what you will do next. I love you, baby girl!

Do You Hula?

The other day I read that Michelle Obama hula hooped 143 times in a row. I think she was kicking off something that was supposed to encourage kids to exercise. I was in awe. 143 times! Wow! She's GOOD. I could never hula hoop. Not that I really tried much, growing up. But all I recall is the hoop falling straight to the ground. So I could just not get over 143 times. (Note: Jim did not find this fact nearly as fascinating. I have a bad habit of relaying bits and pieces of odd newspaper stories to him at the end of the day as he is trying to sleep. He really hates that.)

Then, coincidentally, over the weekend, Liam and Natalie and I happened to pop into a grocery store and Radio Disney was outside doing a little thing. They were playing music, and having a hula hoop contest for the kids. So of course I dragged them over to watch. And it was fascinating. A lot of the kids were young, and not very good. But there were about 3 girls, maybe 8-10 yr old range, who were SO good. They hardly moved their bodies at all (much unlike the jerky swinging back and forth I recall from my own attempts). Of course, Liam and Natalie did not want to try. Then after the kid contest, the DJ tried to get parents to try. About half the parents turned and left immediately. I wanted to leave too...the last thing I wanted to do was embarrass myself. But then I realized that I get frustrated when the kids don't try things because they are afraid to not be good. So I tried. And yes, I hula'd about 4 times in a row before it fell. But I made Liam and Natalie smile. And we all got consolation prizes that were cheap little white-board drawing things that the kids loved. And I went home feeling very good that I was a good example that day (and lately, I need a few examples of these).

So of course while birthday shopping for Natalie, I picked up a hula hoop. Supposedly for Liam and Natalie. But you know it was for me to practice. And the next time I picked it up, I tried to imagine how those girls moved, and I shocked the daylights out of Natalie and Liam (and oh yes, Jim) by being pretty darn good! Picture me now practicing in the bathroom at night before bed...and Jim trying too, because I make it look so easy. ha ha Jim does not have the right motion, and that's all I'm going to say. So now I've impressed my husband with my hula hoop skills. AND I'm ready for the next contest. Bring it on! (Still not going to challenge Michelle Obama though. I Googled video of her, and she is crazy good!!)

And NO I'm not posting video of myself.

Halloween Prep

We still have one more left to carve, but I thought it was easier to do most of the knife-work while Owen was napping this weekend. Just a hunch.

We decided to do pumpkins to match the costumes this year. But I don't have a good stencil for a Robin pumpkin...so I'm trying to decide if Owen's will be Elmo or just a simple face. Owen is actually starting to watch tv a teensy bit, in between couch-jumping, and Elmo is his favorite. While getting a flu shot today, the Dr happened to say something about Elmo and Owen said "La la la la" like the first part of the La-La-La-La, Elmo's World song. The Dr recognized it immediately and burst out laughing. She thought he was very smart to pick up on that.

It really is exciting when I recognize what he is saying now. It's usually just a word here or there, but it will surprise me whenever he pops out with a new one. I counted at least 25 words (or almost-words), not including the Russian word for Yes which he has started using recently (he had never used it before, but apparently it was stored in there just waiting to be used). He has also gained a pound and a half and grown an inch since coming home. The Dr just loves his progress (as do we of course!)